Aberdeen-mad - Aberdeen Journals Boycott

[Dandy_Don]

 

http://www.aberdeen-mad.co.uk/news/loadfeat.asp?cid=ED14&id=392483

 

It's time to take a stand against the stance of the Press & Journal and Evening Express.

 

 

Today, Aberdeen Journals' newspaper the Press & Journal printed a letter from (presumably) a Rangers fan that was wildly inaccurate and attempted to defend and deflect from the disgraceful actions of some Rangers fans this week in Manchester. It did this by comparing this week's shocking scenes with fantasized trouble involving Aberdeen fans in Munich, and by dragging up a 37-second-long incident* where five Aberdeen fans were arrested in Bradford from five years ago.

 

That the Press & Journal printed this letter without checking to ensure that its contents were facts is the final straw. Aberdeen-Mad is now starting a campaign to boycott Aberdeen Journals.

 

Aberdeen-Mad is sick fed up of the lies and distortion Aberdeen Journals' publications print about Aberdeen fans (click here for previous fae the EE, and that's by no means an isolated incident).

 

We get enough of it from the central belt press, but to have to suffer it from our local papers beggars belief, and it's time to hit them in the only way that will make them sit up and take note - stop buying their newspapers and stop visiting their websites.

 

This is not a boycott that will hurt us fans very much. Why do we need the Journals any more? With messageboards like Aberdeen-Mad's Stand Free forum, AFC-Chat, Donstalk, the Ultras, Inverness Reds and more, the rumours and indeed facts appear online well before there's time for Aberdeen Journals to put them on newsprint.

 

Even if the Aberdeen Journals newspapers and websites get hold of a story, it is frequently a) taken from the aforementioned messageboards, and b) inaccurate (see 'Lorenzo' Davids story yesterday).

 

RedWeb, the official AFC website, puts up the club's official press releases in its news section at around the same time as they are sent to Aberdeen Journals, therefore the official news is available online hours or even a day before it can be printed in the P&J or EE. The BBC Sport website has a dedicated AFC news page, as do many other news websites.

 

And then there's the AFC mailing list (if you ignore the drivel of one or two loudmouths) and of course good old word-of-mouth (or email) to pass accurate Dons information about.

 

What if you want to hear answers to difficult, searching questions from sports journalists? Well...when do you ever get that from the Journals reporters? It is always the same old quotes and same old stories ("Player X begs manager Y for a first-team chance" etc etc). Nothing of interest is ever added to the story obtained from a messageboard or press release.

 

And of course the Aberdeen Journals reporters cannot even be trusted to keep a decent relationship with their biggest local football club. Remember the players' boycott of the Evening Express when they gagged themselves from speaking to the paper in March? The root of this, although the EE tried to deflect from this with more lies, was when the EE named players that were said to be shown the door at the club which was based on pure guesswork, and ahead of the Scottish Cup clash with Celtic.

 

Then there's the occasional comment pieces from the likes of The Red Final's Chris Crighton. Well, you can always read The Red Final itself, and there is a rumour that the Red Final's website may be getting a major overhaul soon which will allow Chris an online mouthpiece. Aberdeen-Mad has its own fans commentator The Red Avenger (who also writes for the Scotsman's Fanzone), and of course the various AFC fans messageboards allow all of you your own area to comment on Aberdeen however you wish.

 

So - conclusive proof that if you buy any Aberdeen Journals products simply for Dons news, you do not need to.

 

So join Aberdeen-Mad and stop.

 

 

 

Stand Free Ed

 

 

[glasgow sheep]

seems a bit of a non-event to boycott the Aberdeen Journals over this.  Plenty of other and better reasons to boycott them.

[Stand Free Ed]

seems a bit of a non-event to boycott the Aberdeen Journals over this.  Plenty of other and better reasons to boycott them.

 

But it's not just over this, as is clearly stated in the article:

 

That the Press & Journal printed this letter without checking to ensure that its contents were facts is the final straw. Aberdeen-Mad is now starting a campaign to boycott Aberdeen Journals.

 

Aberdeen-Mad is sick fed up of the lies and distortion Aberdeen Journals' publications print about Aberdeen fans (click here for previous fae the EE, and that's by no means an isolated incident).

 

We get enough of it from the central belt press, but to have to suffer it from our local papers beggars belief...(etc)

[glasgow sheep]

But it's not just over this, as is clearly stated in the article:

 

fair enough ed, and I did realise that when I re read it.  I agree in general with the boycott but a letter from some donside hun spouting typical hun stuff didnae really get me that annoyed.

tbh the stuff that really pisses me off in the P&J and the EE (apart from their quote-less speculation pieces) is the negative, anti dons fans stuff that seems to emanate from the corridors down at Pittodrie

 

ps hope you don't mind me advertising your tshirts on here

[rocket_scientist]

Once you're got rid of 50 T shirts and have a cool G in yer pocket, can I buy you a pint? There's a new pub on the 1st green at the links. Meet there?

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

I don't buy them or even look at the website, I don't buy the retard or hun or even the gerald anymore.

[rocket_scientist]

As if the 20 or so that may buy the P & J from Mad are going to make a difference to circulation?

[Stand Free Ed]

fair enough ed, and I did realise that when I re read it.  I agree in general with the boycott but a letter from some donside hun spouting typical hun stuff didnae really get me that annoyed.

 

Well I've had enough of it, and it's not so much the figures involved in the boycott it's the sentiment.

 

ps hope you don't mind me advertising your tshirts on here

 

Nae bother min, I think they're going to sell out pretty quickly on Thursday. I just wish I'd had more cash up front to get more printed. 

[El Padre™]

Well I've had enough of it, and it's not so much the figures involved in the boycott it's the sentiment.

 

Nae bother min, I think they're going to sell out pretty quickly on Thursday. I just wish I'd had more cash up front to get more printed. 

 

West coast papers dont write about Aberdeen so this nonsense about having to put up with lies or whatever from them is ridiculous. This campaign is all very Follow Follow-esque and I thought we had more sense than to indulge in these kind of things.

[TENEMENTFUNSTER]

West coast papers dont write about Aberdeen so this nonsense about having to put up with lies or whatever from them is ridiculous. This campaign is all very Follow Follow-esque and I thought we had more sense than to indulge in these kind of things.

 

FTW!

[Kowalski]

The P&J's a reasonable read, so I'm not boycotting it just because they printed a letter in their letters page.  I've never been in favour of censorship.

 

The Evening Express is a different story, as Charlie is a w*nk.  But aside from their shoddy sports reporting, they've done a great job making a fool of the NIMBY's trying to scupper Trump's golf course, and the beaut bride of the month competition is hilarious.

 

I enjoy reading some sort of newspaper, and I'm not buying the fucking Record or the Sun, and a broadsheet seems a bit much for the kharzi.

[rocket_scientist]

I don't get the EE but get the P & J. Still waiting for a credible argument from the Mad lovers. So they printed a letter from a fuckwit? So?

 

They're all going on about how the paper should check the factual content of a letter. Eh? Think it's meglomaniacal masel fae Ed.

[Slim]

I reckon printing a letter that they are fully aware contains statements that are grossly inaccurate is bang out of order.

 

They should stick to reporting the news instead of trying to create it.

[El Padre™]

Has anyone got a scan of the letter that caused such offence?

[mizer]

Trouble in Manchester

 

SIR, – Further to your comment on the behaviour of a small minority of alleged Rangers fans in Manchester on Wednesday, I would like to make my own comment.

 

I was present at Albert Square until 5pm on the day and saw no trouble whatsoever. All we saw were thousands of mainly Scottish people having fun in the sun while enjoying some cold beer.

 

We actually went to the game and saw absolutely no problems (apart from the result). There were, by all accounts, more than 200,000 Rangers fans in the city for the game and you are always going to get a few bad apples with this amount of people.

 

However, an arrest rate of one in 5,000 people (most of whom were full of drink) is not that bad a statistic.

 

In case you have forgotten, the last time such violence was seen involving fans from Scotland could have been in Munich this season when one of our local teams was playing, or it could have been in Bradford a few years back when many thugs local to the Aberdeen area were put behind bars.

 

Every team has followers who should not be able to accompany them on their travels, and I suggest these same people would cause trouble even if they were in their home town, no matter what colour of scarf they were wearing.

 

William Ferguson,

 

Main Street,

 

Alford.

[Andrew]

Edit: too late

 

He is from Alford as well

[El Padre™]

I'm outraged.

[Guest fatshaft]

Edit: too late

 

He is from Alford as well

Fuck sakes, I went to school wi' that bastard, year older than me. He was a right fucking wally as well, then when he got to fifth year suddenly got right into hunnery, the orange lodge and marching and all the bigoted shit.

 

 

EDIT: Was trying to remember his nickname and it's just come to me - "Sponge"

[TheChimp]

There were, by all accounts, more than 200,000 Rangers fans in the city for the game.

 

 

In case you have forgotten, the last time such violence was seen involving fans from Scotland could have been in Munich this season when one of our local teams was playing.

 

Hing on, are you sure it was Munich?

 

William Ferguson,

 

Main Street,

 

Alford.

 

Fuckin idiot.

[Sharpie]

I'm outraged.

 

 

 

[Stand Free Ed]

Well excuse me for wanting to stick up for Aberdeen fans.

 

 

[rocket_scientist]

Well excuse me for wanting to stick up for Aberdeen fans.

 

 

 

 

It would sound more sincere if you actually were one, instead of having the principal objective of making money from us.

[Kowalski]

A couple of responses to the original letter:

 

Trouble in Manchester

 

SIR, – I feel compelled to respond to William Ferguson’s letter (the Press and Journal, May 17) headed “Trouble in Manchesterâ€.

 

Mr Ferguson’s attempt at playing down the quite disgraceful scenes beggars believe.

 

The events in Manchester have seriously damaged the reputation of Scottish football fans as a whole and to say that the worst football-related rioting seen in the UK for decades is down to a small minority and a “few bad apples†downplays the horrific scenes considerably.

 

The arrest rate of one in 5,000 fans might not be “that bad a statistic†to Mr Ferguson, but it far exceeds the rate seen at any other Scottish team’s fixtures.

 

To my knowledge, no Aberdeen fans were arrested in Madrid or Munich – despite Mr Ferguson’s claims.

 

Having seen the images on TV, I would suggest that considerably higher numbers would and should have been arrested had the police not been so badly outnumbered.

 

The scenes will not be forgotten by the people of Manchester and it will now surely put to bed the prospect of Rangers FC ever competing in the Premiership.

 

Gavin J. Sim,

 

xx North Deeside Road,

 

Kincardine O’Neil.

 

‘Downright thuggery’

 

SIR, – Regarding the letter (May 17) headed “Trouble in Manchesterâ€, William Ferguson obviously hasn’t been watching television footage of what the nation witnessed as downright thuggery from the Rangers fans in Manchester.

 

He mentioned how he attended the game and claimed there was no trouble there.

 

A Zenit St Petersburg fan was stabbed.

 

Perhaps he needs to do a little research into the goings-on.

 

And then came the great deflection tactic away from Rangers fans: he went on to claim that there was violence in Munich with Aberdeen fans.

 

What a load of absolute drivel.

 

Feel free to get in contact with the Munich police and find out if his weak claim holds water.

 

I think you will find that it leaks worse than the Dons’ defence this season.

 

Bill Stephen,

 

xx Oldcroft Court

 

Aberdeen.

 

To suggest the P&J should research all 'facts' written in on their letters page seems a bit silly to me, the letters page is just that - letters from the public, not journalism.  The original letter has sparked some good responses above, which was all it needed.

[Stand Free Ed]

Why should Aberdeen fans have to defend themselves after huns run riot in Manchester?

[rocket_scientist]

To suggest the P&J should research all 'facts' written in on their letters page seems a bit silly to me, the letters page is just that - letters from the public, not journalism.  The original letter has sparked some good responses above, which was all it needed.

 

Agree. A letter is a letter, not editorial, so whether or not it contains opinions that are ridiculous, or contains material inaccuracies, is not the point. The point is that it was sent to the paper, and if it may be of interest to the circulation - this is the only criteria - then they can decide to publish.

 

Some of the mad people try so hard to be uber fans, that they initiate a "campaign" that has a fundamental flaw in its complaint, and will inevitably prove fruitless.